Jakarta bars Abbott asylum boat plan

Paul Maley, The Australian , January 04, 2010 12:00AM

INDONESIA has rejected a proposal by Tony Abbott to tow seaworthy asylum boats back to Indonesia, saying Australia must deal with boats in its own waters.

As Border Protection Command yesterday intercepted a boat carrying 76 asylum-seekers off Christmas Island -- the first this year -- former immigration minister Philip Ruddock said the Howard government towed four boats back to Indonesia shortly after the Tampa crisis of 2001.

But Mr Ruddock acknowledged there were problems with such measures, saying people-smugglers began sabotaging their boats once they realised they were likely to be turned back on the high seas.

"Certainly, smugglers . . . would encourage people to sabotage vessels to ensure that they weren't seaworthy and that the return was not possible," Mr Ruddock told The Australian. "And in many cases that happened."

The Howard government minister's remarks followed a pledge by the Opposition Leader last week to tow asylum boats back into Indonesian waters.

The proposal, which was also endorsed by Kevin Rudd prior to the last election, was attacked by refugee groups and migration law experts as inhumane and illegal.

Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser described the suggestion as "miserable".

"The idea of turning the boats back is pure Pauline Hanson," Mr Fraser said.

Mr Ruddock said his government was able to tow boats back by working quietly with the Indonesians and not engaging in "megaphone diplomacy".

But yesterday, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah indicated that Jakarta would not agree to a repeat of the practice. "I don't believe we will be very happy with that policy," he said.

Rather, Australia should deal with boats in its territorial waters, just as Indonesia managed boats found on its waterways, Mr Faizasyah said.

Mr Ruddock said he recalled four instances where boats were returned to Indonesia.

He said the policy was handled on a case-by-case basis, always with the consent of Jakarta.

"If vessels were capable of being returned, they were," he said.

"Indonesia made it clear that, provided we didn't essentially crow about it, they would receive them back and they would then be available for processing or detained by the International Organisation for Migration and processed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

"Where vessels could not be adequately secured, they were then taken to offshore processing centres at Nauru and Manus."

Mr Ruddock said the policy helped alter the "psychology" around people-smuggling.

"(Asylum-seekers) weren't prepared to pay up front because there was no guarantee that if they got to Manus or Nauru, or if the vessel was brought back to Indonesia, that they were getting what they wanted, which was access to Australia," he said.